Current kitchen planning - kitchen purchase

The original budget was 10,000 euros, the offers currently range between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.

We were lucky: we had a kitchen salesman who asked about the limit. With the preferred surface, he took a quote front from Nolte (not unlike yours) and said that you can take half the sum for furniture and appliances.
In this respect, he immediately expressed concerns about a certain cabinet being relatively too expensive. He came up with alternatives, so we were roughly within our limit with our dream kitchen.
By the way, our limit was 10,000, and we still only have drawers and pull-outs, plus an extra-thin countertop.

From the mid-range, AEG, Siemens... The steam oven should be the AEG ProCombi Plus BS1835480x (RRP 2,000 euros).

So no high-priced Miele... We have steam and oven from Neff, each about €550 (year 2013). So there would still be opportunities to save.

Roll-up cabinet, 90 cm wide and full depth, will be our coffee bar, a fully automatic machine goes in below.

90 cm is expensive... pull-outs as well as roller shutter.

Hood was, I believe, around 600 euros.

That's okay.

We have pull-outs completely below because of the line flow. Doors with shelves above.

Understandable – we do that too and it is a priority if you want a nice kitchen.

But as said, there are many cabinets,

Far too many.

Do you have any tips and suggestions?

As already said: I find the kitchen nice in terms of design (it is also similar to ours), yet I find the left wing much too bulky.
The 90 cm roller shutter is too wide for my taste on the drawing and will probably also appear too wide in shape in reality.
My tip would be to leave it out and instead shop for a completely different piece of furniture as a coffee bar – a dresser or sideboard that contrasts with the abundance of Nobilia gloss.
A lot of storage space is better than too little, but maybe one can also speak of exaggeration? The work area in the left wing also seems quite long to me, so that the tall cabinets are somewhat too far away from the work itself because of the island.
My basic tip would therefore be to reduce everything a bit on the left and possibly equip the gained space with individual pieces or later with a wine cabinet or something.

Hi, a long warranty is pretty much the surest indicator of quality (in terms of durability, not looks/feel) there is.

I don’t put much stock in all those warranty promises. You are usually the one who has to provide proof, and that costs nerves. Much more important for us are solid craftsmen who assemble the kitchen properly. That’s half the battle. Our current run-of-the-mill kitchen is 14 years old and was second-hand back then. Appliances have since been replaced but the actual furniture holds up. So I strongly assume that you can easily use any decent kitchen for 20+ years with proper use. We like going to the Swedes, also fans of the Pax system, but we don’t want a kitchen here. Surely you could take the trouble to plan it there once and compare, but can you really manage that without making 100 sacrifices and compromises? I had hoped for a promotion: buy 2 kitchens, pay for 1, but unfortunately it seems that doesn’t exist.

By the way, I think your EG is great! Did we discuss that? Does it have a basement?

By the way, I think your ground floor is great!
Did we discuss this? Does it have a basement?

Yes, we did, it was a few days ago:



Completely with a residential basement.
It was the one where someone wanted a roof terrace on the garage. But the building authority put a stop to that plan.

We were lucky: we had a kitchen salesperson who asked about the budget. With the preferred surface, he took a quote from Nolte (not unlike yours) and said that you can consider half the amount as furniture and appliances combined.
Accordingly, he immediately expressed concerns about a certain cabinet being comparatively too expensive. He came up with alternatives so that we were roughly within our limit with our desired kitchen.
By the way, our limit was 10,000, and we still only have drawers and pull-outs, plus an extra thin countertop.

We have another appointment with Schmidt on Saturday; he is our small favorite in terms of competence and quality.
But ultimately, the price will decide, which we do not have yet.

The advantage was that we took something from every conversation and adopted it. So it was never wasted time.
My wife also has certain ideas; for example, there must definitely be an orange picture (glass) behind the cooktop, which will then continue in color on the wallpaper on the right wall.
Currently, we "stole" the picture from Nolte, maybe something similar can be sourced cheaper elsewhere.

What’s always exciting is which promotion is running. Apparently, next month Schmidt has a promotion where interior pull-outs are free, which would be interesting for us too.

So, no high-priced Miele... We have steam and oven from Neff at about €550 each (year 2013). So there are still opportunities to save.

No, everything is solid mid-range.

90 cm is expensive... both pull-outs and roller shutter.

I don’t have individual prices now. We saw it in a show house and wanted it that way. In the morning the roller shutter is up, coffee machine on, space next to it for cups and tray.
And in the evening, the roller shutter down and everything is tidy.

As already said: I find the kitchen nice in design (it’s actually similar to ours), but I still find the left wing much too bulky.
The 90 cm roller shutter is too wide for me on the drawing and will probably also appear too wide in real life in terms of shape.
My tip would be to leave it out and instead shop a completely different piece of furniture as a coffee bar – a dresser or sideboard that stands in contrast to the abundance of Nobilia gloss.
A lot of storage space is better than too little, but maybe one can also talk about exaggeration? The work area on the left wing also seems quite long to me, so the tall cabinets are a bit too far from the actual working area due to the island.
My basic tip would therefore be to reduce everything on the left a bit and perhaps use the gained space for single pieces or later with a wine cabinet or something.

We also considered leaving something out somewhere, but that’s not our thing. It’s always visible and I wouldn’t be happy with that.
Better to bite the bullet and pay more if the price is really justified.
But we also want to practice discipline and learn, otherwise in the end there won’t be enough left for the tiler.

We also looked at some kitchens back then but already had the kitchen builder included in the house construction (because the purchase price with the general contractor included a kitchen). We still looked at Ikea. My father, an experienced carpenter, has seen countless kitchens in his life. The carcass is the same pressed fiberboard crap with almost all kitchen builders. Solid real wood carcass cabinets don’t exist in the price range of 15-20,000. After installation, no one really sees it anyway. The price is made only by the fronts and, of course, the countertop. The appliances are a completely different topic. There are also differences in the hinges, although they don’t make a difference at purchase prices.

The cheapest way to get a top kitchen:

- Buy carcass elements at Ikea (as long as all the elements you want are available)
- Have the fronts made by a carpenter, including hinges
- Order the countertop from the stonemason (granite)
- Order the kitchen appliances online
- Assemble the carcass elements yourself

You also save the costs of outsourcing. When you order a granite countertop from the kitchen builder, the kitchen installer also orders the countertop from a stonemason—and marks it up quite a bit.

Standard tips:

- Oven at countertop height!
- Cabinets under the countertop in pull-out variants, as you can see everything inside when pulled out. Swing doors mean you sometimes have to bend over quite a bit
- Apothecary cabinets are expensive but really hold a lot. We have a 40 cm apothecary cabinet and wouldn’t want to go without it. A great thing.
- An ice cube maker in the freezer is really, really cool
- Induction is practically a must
- The price surcharge of the inexpensive construkta appliances compared to Neff is very manageable (in relation to what some fronts cost extra...)
- Pyrolysis in the oven works and is really great
- In an open kitchen, be sure to buy a quiet dishwasher / Dishwasher can also sit at countertop height but doesn’t have to
- Silgranit sinks are great, stainless steel sinks are not recommended (scratch easily, always look kind of dirty, surface rust)
- Buy a proper waste separation system in the cabinet. Best one that opens directly when you open the drawer compartment (not double opening). Buy containers that are actually big enough and don’t have to be replaced after two yogurt cups. Seriously think about how many different compartments you really need (we have 2, yellow sack + paper). Organic waste goes out immediately; black bin waste is rather rare in the kitchen
- And the most important thing: buy your kitchen with a higher countertop height! Every fool buys "standard height" (82-87 cm), just because it’s standard and then complains about a damaged back. We have a countertop height of 100 cm (max the kitchen builder offered) and everyone who has cooked with it even once has praised the great height. The kitchen builder said he hadn’t sold two kitchens at that height in 5 years. I wonder why?! Definitely try it out in the kitchen studio!!! P.S.: The people were not particularly tall, about 175 cm

: the kitchen has already been put together and firmly planned by the OP. He is looking for saving tips